Not a Bad Place to Be
by jeytonlover
Summary: May Flashfic for juliasfish! Just what is Noel's story anyway?


**I know that this is going to blow some of you away (especially Cat), but I'm NOT going to start this off by apologizing (which is an absolute first for me with a flashfic). **

**In fact, I'm actually rather proud of the way it turned out.**

**Having said all that, it is what it is and I hope you enjoy it.**

**This is my May Flashfic for juliasfish and I'll give the prompt at the end. **

**_Flashbacks will be in italics. _Oh, and this does contain Spoilers (with my own little spin) for "Show-Off-Tune" and "Allergy Season".  
**

* * *

Hello, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Noel, Noel Covington. Now you might be asking yourself, what kind of people name their kid Noel? Well, evidently very snobby, very rich, high society people who always bestow upon their firstborn son a family surname. And I happen to be the lucky one. Not that there's anyone else to bestow it upon. I'm an only child. Seems my parents secured the family heir and then decided that procreating wasn't for them.

I've spent my life traveling around the world, attending the most prestigious private schools you can imagine and to be honest, I hated every minute of it. See, I just don't like the whole idea of class systems. Why should I be treated any differently from say, you, just because I have more zeros at the end of my bank account? But unfortunately, I'm the only one that sees it that way in my family. My family has the attitude of what can you do for me.

Now you might be wondering, what is a kid with a background like that doing in London? Well it would seem that my family is opening a new plant here and my dad didn't trust anyone else to oversee the progress. I have to tell you that I was thrilled to get a chance to move, especially when I found out that there were no private schools in London, only a couple of public high schools.

Of course my parents weren't happy, thinking that it was totally beneath me. Their solution was to send me off to boarding school, but for once in my life I found my backbone and refused. I wanted to experience real high school, with real kids, and a social order that didn't always ascend from rich to richest. I wanted to wear t-shirts and jeans and hiking boots, not a suit coat and tie.

So I dug my heels in and they finally relented. And that's how I found myself starting grade eleven at Sir John Sparrow Thompson High School. And that's where I first laid eyes on Casey McDonald.

Over the summer I met a group of guys at the local skateboarding park and we became really great friends. I took it upon myself to not let them know about the money thing until I was sure that they liked me for me. It seems that sometimes people are attracted to money and they'll just put up with you if they think they can get something.

But that wasn't the case with these guys. We do all the normal things that guys do. We hang out, talk about girls, eat, talk about girls, play video games, talk about girls. Did I mention that we talk about girls? And that's how I came to find myself where I am today. Now where I'm at today is not a bad place to be, but to really appreciate it, you have to know the places I've been and the things I've endured to get this point.

The first time I laid eyes on Casey McDonald, we were standing around my locker on the first day of school. She came walking down the hall and suddenly she seemed to trip over nothing at all, but she managed to regain her balance before she fell. She looked around to see in anyone saw and I averted my eyes from her before she saw me staring. But as soon as she threw her bookbag up on her shoulder and began walking away, my eyes instantly reverted back to following her.

"_Nice choice Noel," Tony said. "Casey McDonald is slowly working her way up the social ladder, not to mention she's the step-sister of the most popular guy in school. You could cement a spot in the high school hierarchy dating her."_

"_Who says I'm interested," I said as I tried to blow them off._

"_Says your eyes, as they bugged out of their sockets while you watched her walk away," Brad chimed in._

"_Listen," I began to protest, "I'm just a punk skater. I can tell by the look of her that she wouldn't be interested in a guy like me."_

"_Yah, you're right," Tony goaded on. "No girl would be interested in the new kid who just also happens to be loaded and drives a Vette."_

"_Shut up," I said quickly. "You know I don't want anyone to know that."_

_I saw a look come across Craig's face and I knew I was in trouble. And sure enough, the words that came out of his mouth next, literally chilled me to the bones. "So, let's make it interesting. Casey's all into drama, dance, music, all that artsy crap. I dare you to try out for the next musical. You steer clear of her until then and then you get introduced to her that way. She'll think you're some musical loving geek and she'll love it. It's a win-win situation, because you get a chance to get to know Casey in her element and we get a chance to laugh our butts off if you actually get a part. Look at it this way, there's a fifty-fifty chance you'll only have to work stage crew."_

_A total sense of dread overcame me as I asked, "You're kidding right?" But I knew even as I asked that I was hooked now. They'd never let me live it down if I turned down the dare._

And that is how I found myself trying out for "YoHo HipHop". Snazzy title wouldn't you say? Yah, I know you're totally right, there's no way to spin it, it's totally lame and amazingly ridiculous. Okay, now that we're all in agreement, let's get on with this, shall we?

Now, Ms. Zeldin said that anyone who tried out would automatically have some part in the show, even if it was just working behind the scenes as part of the stage crew. With that in mind, I never even bothered to check the cast list. I just showed up at the appointed time and place. So needless to say, I was in for a shock when I walked into the cafeteria that day.

_Just as I opened the door, I heard Ms. Zeldin say, "There's Noel. We're all introducing ourselves Noel. Why don't you tell us why you're here?"_

_I looked straight at them all and shrugged, "Because my friends dared me to audition."_

_I thought Wendel was going to totally lose it when he asked, "You got the lead on a dare?"_

_My heart literally felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. Maybe I hadn't heard him right; surely I hadn't heard him right. "I'm the lead?" I finally managed to ask._

At that point, Ms. Zeldin smiled at me and I'm sure she was trying to help when she told me that she could sense my surprise, and that I would be this year's big discovery. But all I was thinking at the time was 'Discovery of what, the world's biggest fool?'

She then proceeded to lead us in breathing exercises. Now at this point I have to admit to you, I was already having a hard time breathing, the shock of my starring role still racing through my mind. Now couple that with the fact that I was standing next to Casey and would soon be making a total fool of myself in front of her, and that my friend was basically a recipe for disaster in the making.

After that practice, Ms. Zeldin decided that she wanted me and Casey to develop chemistry to help with what she liked to refer to as the magic on stage. So Casey asked if I'd like to meet her for lunch. I was absolutely thrilled at the prospect. Well until I came down the stairs and saw Max Miller hugging her. See, I'm not big on the whole social scene and it never occurred to me that Casey might have gotten a boyfriend since the beginning of school. I know what you're thinking, 'Come on Noel, she's beautiful, smart and talented. You don't think she had a boyfriend?' So sue me. I guess I just had this picture in my head of how things would work out in the end and a boyfriend was never part of the scenario.

It was then that I decided, well one of the many times I decided, that I didn't have a chance. I mean come on, he was the captain of the football team and I was just, well I was just me. So I did what I do best, I instantly went into defense mode and became my usual, sarcastic self.

_Casey gave me a smile as she asked, "Hey Noel, so want to get to know each other?"_

_I immediately put on my best badass attitude and smarted off, "That's cool but I think I've got you pegged."  
_

_I could tell she was surprised by my response as she asked, "You do, do you?"_

_Trying my best to keep the aura of arrogance channeled I went on, "You dance, sing, study, write poetry, love movies, you're dating the captain of the football team and you've got much better things to do than eat lunch with me." As soon as I said it, I wanted to kick myself. Now she was going to wonder how I knew so much about her._

_But evidently her mind was going down a different path when she responded, "No, I don't. So let's go."_

And so the 'get to know you' small talk began.

"_What grade you in?" she asked._

"_Eleven."_

"_Oh me too! I guess we run in different circles."_

_She was trying, she really was, but I just couldn't see the whole thing ending in anything but disaster. I had to stop this right now!_

"_Yah, look, my auditioning on a dare was a big mistake. I mean, Deckhand Hart in 'YoHo HipHop'? I mean, I'll never live it down with my maties."_

_I saw her eyes flash and it took me about two seconds to realize that I'd just made a huge mistake._

"_Well, since you've already got me pegged, you'll know I'm really into musicals. And I was thrilled to get the lead, so if you're not going to take this serious, would you just drop out now?"_

_I was screaming yes on the inside but tried to appear cool on the outside as I told her, "Maybe I will."_

_I could tell she was totally pissed. Giving me a look that can only be described as a 'Casey look', she tried to appear calm as she responded, "Okay then, it was nice not getting to know you."_

So at this point you're probably saying, 'you big dummy!' I know, you're right, and I still kick myself for it. So what did I do? What any self-respecting, totally love-sick guy would do. I went back for more.

_Casey looked shocked when she walked into the cafeteria and saw me. "What are you doing here?"_

_Trying to act as cool and put together as I could, I replied nonchalantly, "Uh, just looking over the script. Why does this play have so many songs?"_

_She looked at me like I had two heads and had lost the minds out of both of them. "Uh, because it's a musical. But I meant what are you doing at the rehearsal? I thought you were going to drop out."_

_Still trying to regain my dignity I tried to act like it was no big deal. "No, no, no, you asked me to drop out. I only do things on dares."_

_I could see she didn't think my reply was cute. "Well, if you're not quitting then I hope you're totally committed because this play already has a clown."_

_And as if on cue, Derek came running out from behind the stage, Wendel chasing after him trying to retrieve his sword._

_Soon Ms. Zeldin had gotten hold of the situation and she had gathered all the leads around her. The smile that had graced my face as Wendel had chased Derek was quickly wiped away and a sense of pure panic overcame me when Ms. Zeldin asked me to sing. _

Now before I go I have to tell you that what came out next isn't something I'm very proud of. I have no idea where it came from other than the fact that pure desperation had sat in at that moment and I would have tried anything to get out of it.

"_You, you, you, know what?" I stammered, trying to think fast, "I'd love to, but I just ate and you should always wait fifteen minutes before singing." What? Where the hell did that come from?_

_I heard Wendel stifle a laugh behind me. "That's swimming, funny guy."_

_Busted! So I did the only thing I could do. I sang and when I got through I could see the shock on Casey's face as she told me, "Wow, you're good."_

Personally I was just happy to get through it without my voice cracking and I was especially happy that I didn't throw up on anyone.

_And then it was Casey's turn to sing and she was amazing._

_But all good things must come to an end, and when Ms. Zeldin told us to sing together it was, well it was a bit of train wreck. But we managed to pull it together at the end and she assured us that we'd work on our harmonies._

_And then she told Wendel it was his turn. _

_Evidently he felt a ray of hope that he might still have a chance to snag the lead after hearing me try to harmonize, because he really went all out. When he came out from behind the curtain he was swinging on a rope as he began to sing. But he was totally out of control and Ms. Zeldin was telling him, "Wendel, release the rope." He swung back behind the curtain one more time and then didn't come back out. Instead, we heard a huge crash followed by him yelling. Yah, Pirate Pete definitely had a problem._

_Ms. Zeldin told us to run lines while she went to check on Wendel. They took him to the nurse's station and when she got back she gave us a half-hearted smile as she told us, "You'll be happy to know that Wendel will be fine, as soon as his broken leg heals."_

_Casey immediately responded with, "That's awful."_

_But whether it makes me a bad person or not, the only thing that came over me was a sense of relief. Of course I felt bad for Wendel, but this was perfect. I only tried out as a way to get to know Casey and now that's happened. And since Wendel's hurt, the play's probably off. I tried to hide the smile from my face as I asked, "Yah, I guess the show's over then, huh?"_

_I immediately didn't like the look she gave me and I knew I wouldn't like her answer either as she began, "Oh Noel, the theater is about keeping the magic alive when it would seem all is lost."_

_I knew that sense of loss, because it totally overcame me when she said those words. _

_With a sense of dread I went on and asked, __"Well who's going to fill his turtleneck?"_

_Ms. Zeldin tried to look positive as she smiled and said, "A promising male cast member, Derek Venturi."_

Now I have to interrupt here and tell you that I felt a small glimmer of hope rising up in me. For a moment I thought Casey was going to need CPR. She had gasped at Ms. Zeldin's words and had begun turning a nice shade of blue. But unfortunately for me, evidently that happens quite frequently to Casey and she carries around small brown paper bags for such occasions, so CPR wasn't necessary.

Now in my own little fantasy world I had fooled myself into thinking that singing was the worst thing in the world. But I was soon reminded that there are fates even worse. A thing so horrible that it makes me want to shudder and hide. Even the prospect of spending alone time with Casey wasn't enough incentive for what was to come next.

_I came down the hall just in time to see what appeared to be a fight between Casey and Max. She walked away from him and up beside me and I could tell she was really pissed. And if you couldn't see it, you could definitely hear it in the tone of her voice as she said, "Oh you! You go over my new choreography?" She didn't even let me answer before she went on, "Great, let's go make some magic," she said sarcastically._

_I quickly realized that now was probably not the best time to tell her what was on my mind but oh well, here goes nothing, "Actually I was thinking of skipping the magic show and the play."_

_Casey looked up at me and huffed, "Tell me you're not having second thoughts about being in the play again?"_

_I tried to give her what I thought was a charming smile as I told her, "More like third thoughts."_

_Her eyes bugged out and I tried to go on and explain. "It's just that public humiliation isn't really my thing. And your choreography is…"_

_She butted in, "Is really great. And if you want to avoid public humiliation we need to rehearse. So can you meet me in the caf after school?"_

_She gave me no time to respond and with a sarcastic smile she went on, "Great! Bring your dancing shoes," she added and then she walked away without another word between us._

Well since I didn't have dancing shoes I showed up in the cafeteria in my boots and once again we started off on the wrong foot.

_Casey looked down and took one look at my boots and put her hands on her hips. "Noel, you can't dance in those."_

_Boy was she serious. I tried to lighten the mood as I threw my hands up in mock hurt. "Darn, and I was looking so forward to it." I walked away from her and took a seat on the stage. "I guess we'll just have to stick to singing and do the dancing some other time."_

_Hands still on her hips, she walked over until she was standing directly in front of me. "__Okay, either you're really chicken and you don't want to dance or you're really arrogant and you don't think you need to learn the moves." And then a look came over her face and her eyes narrowed as she asked, "Or are you an arrogant chicken?"_

_Well, she probably had me pegged pretty accurately, but I couldn't let her know that, so my response was to deflect the question with humor, "Oh, I love arrogant chicken, with a little lemon and tomato sauce."_

_A look of realization crossed her face as she shook her head and asked, "You don't dance, do you?"_

"_What?" I asked trying to feign surprise._

_She raised her eyebrows questioningly at me as I went on, "Of course I do." I tried to put my most confident look on as I said, "Get up there, you lead and I'll follow." But on the inside was thinking 'God, what have I just done?'_

I have to stop here and highly suggest that if you ever have the chance to go watch Casey dance, take it! She proceeded to do moves that made me wonder why she wasn't studying at some Performing Art High School. I'm telling you, this girl has serious moves and I had to check every once in a while to make sure I wasn't drooling. But I didn't really have time to drool too much because I was too busy trying to make sure I didn't fall flat on my butt.

During this time of sweet torture I learned that there's a fine line between loose and too loose. I tried, I really did, but I never could quite find that ever elusive point of appropriate looseness. But I have to say it wasn't all bad, there was a lot of hands on stuff as she tried to show me what my body was supposed to do. Yeah, I knew right then that I could learn to like this dancing thing.

And then it happened, I really did fall on my butt. I had done so well and then my poor feet just couldn't take anymore. Well, I must say I put up a valiant effort, but I had a feeling she could see the writing on the wall. I was sure that she'd want to cancel the musical after that. But instead, she said we should just sit down and take a break.

_And when she looked at me and told me, "You're not the worst dancer," I had mixed emotions._

"_Second worst?" I finally asked._

_She shrugged her shoulders and the look she gave me wasn't promising. Then she smiled as she nodded and said, "Pretty much, yah."_

_Wow, that does a lot for a guy's ego._

_But then she made an offer that shocked me, "I could make the choreography less complicated."_

_WOW! "Oh really?"_

_She nodded as she went on, "If you tell me why you're really in the play."_

_I hope she couldn't see everything that was running through my mind. Should I tell her the real reason? Of course not, being the arrogant chicken that I am, so I went with my patented answer. "I told you, I was dared."_

"_Yah, and I buy that you were auditioning on a dare, but why are you still here?"_

'_Just tell her, stupid,' I kept saying to myself. Tell her it was because you wanted to get to know her better. Nope, chickening out once more, I just said, "Because I was born to dance."_

_She rolled her eyes and laughed._

_Looking down I rubbed my eyes and thought up the story I would tell. "Okay fine, ever since I started high school, I've always played it safe. So I figured that trying out for the musical might be my first bold move." 'A move to get to know you,' I thought to myself. "So when the guys dared me, I thought, 'why not'?"_

_She looked surprised at my answer. "Wow, I admire your courage. My football player boyfriend would never be in a musical," then she thought for a second and added, "or at the musical for that matter."  
_

_And then we both laughed before she went on. "And it's going to be too bad, because he is going to miss the most ridiculous moment in theater history."_

"_My costume? My dancing? Our onstage kiss?" I teased._

_She looked down and then smiled as she looked back up and said, "Derek singing."_

"_Yah," I said looking at her with a smile of my own, "definitely."_

"_It's going to be bad," she added._

From then it was a whirlwind of practices. We sang, we danced, and we acted our hearts out. And in the process we became friends. I was totally psyched about this, because all great relationships are based on friendship, right? Well at least that's what I kept telling myself. And still, in the back of my mind I had the notion of how upset she was really going to be after it was all over, and she realized that Max had really gone to that concert instead of coming to see her. So I kept biding my time and before we knew it, it was show time.

_Derek did his thing and the crowd went wild. 'Wow,' I thought to myself, 'I have to go out after that?' No pressure at all, yah right!_

_So taking a deep breath I walk up to Derek and say my lines._

_In typical over the top Derek fashion he pulled out his sword and challenged me._

_And then the sword fight was on._

_And of course I got to defeat him. I am Deckhand Hart after all. And even if it was just in the play, how many people get to say that they beat Derek Venturi?_

_After that I just kind of became Deckhand Hart and things went great until finally it was the last scene. I just prayed that my voice wouldn't crack and I could get through everything and remember my lines, knowing that I was going to be so close to Casey, that I would actually be kissing Casey. We had never actually practiced the kissing. Ms. Elden had it in her head that it would lose some of the magic if we had actually kissed before._

Stupid, Ms. Elden!

_And then Casey began the final scene. "Oh Hart, I'm so proud of you. After everyone abandoned ship, you came to my rescue. How can I ever thank you?"_

_Okay, here goes nothing, "With one dance at sea, under the stars." And then I put my hand out and she took it as the music began. She danced around me and I could feel my heart almost beating out of my chest. _

_And then she sighed as she began to sing, looking straight into my eyes, "I never thought that in this place," I looked away as she went on, "We'd end up face to face." But when she ran the back of her hand across my cheek, I had to look at her. God, she was beautiful._

_And then it was my turn, "And I can't believe that this is real, I never thought that I would feel," and suddenly, everything I was singing I felt. I wanted this to be real, being able to hold her in my arms like I was at the moment, the feelings that were coursing through me._

_And then she went on, "I know it's true, I feel the same, and oh this isn't just a game."_

_And it broke my heart a little to hear her words because I knew that to her they were just words to a song, but I longed to hear her truly mean them. _

_And then I joined her, and the harmonies were perfect, almost as if we were meant for this, to be together. "So let's not miss another chance, to share in this final dance."_

_Then I took a knee and she sat down and we continued on. "And when it's through you'll look at me, and I'll close my eyes and hopefully, some magic there will be."_

_I'd been hearing about the magic of the theater since the beginning, but for the first time, I was actually experiencing it. And then we slowly moved towards one another and our lips met. And we heard the applause and I was brought out of the trance I was in as I looked out at the crowd._

_But the magic was short lived as a chorus of girls could be heard from the front row shouting, "Derek, Derek, Derek." And in true Derek fashion he came back out on stage and blew right through us, taking the stage front and center._

_Of course Wendel couldn't be upstaged, so he soon pushed past us and we kind of stood there just looking at each other like, 'what just happened here?'_

_We did get our final bow and the audience responded in kind. I swear, I had never felt such a sense of accomplishment in my entire life. It was something that all the money in the world couldn't buy.  
_

_Later Casey and I were back stage discussing opening night when Derek went through with his gaggle of groupies telling them that he'd be happy to discuss the play with them at Wendel's cast party._

_Casey crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable. We were in almost every scene and sang almost every song and Derek's the hit of the show?"_

_I had gained a lot of courage during this whole thing and knew that if I was ever going to do it, now was the perfect time to start displaying some of it. "Well, despite popular opinion, I'd say the real star was you."_

_And just as I was about to go on, Max walked up. Max? He was supposed to be at some stupid concert. Max?_

_He walked up to her and said, "He's right."_

_She immediately forgot I was even there as she walked over to him and asked, "Max, when did you get here?"_

He told her he was there the whole time. The whole time? I swear I never saw him. It was like someone had called him and told him it was almost over, so he better get down here and pretend. He had some patented line about stupid football players and she fell for it hook, line and sinker.

So that was it. I knew I was beat so I just walked away. But as I was walking over to talk to some others, I heard her thank Max for the flowers. God, I was so wrapped up in everything that I'd forgotten the flowers I had sent her. I quickly snuck the card off. I knew when I was beat and I wanted to at least try and save face.

And then she was out of my life, well until a chance run-in in the hall changed everything. I have to tell you that I was more than a little excited to see her face light up when she saw me.

"_Noel, how are you? I feel like we haven't talked since the musical."_

_I wanted to hit her upside the head and go 'duh', but my heart was beating and my mind was racing and I felt lucky to get out a shaky, "That's 'cause we haven't."_

_And then she started in with the excuses, "I know, it's because I've been super busy since the football season started. And tada," she added as she held Max's jacket open and turned in a circle to model what she was wearing._

_I acted surprised as I said, "Wow, you're a cheerleader. That's something I really didn't think you did." But of course I knew. Just because we hadn't talked didn't mean I hadn't kept up with her. But still, I wanted her to know that I didn't really think that it was a very 'Casey like' thing to do._

_She laughed, "I didn't until this year, but its super fun and super demanding."_

_Wow, she'd really taken this cheerleading thing to heart. Could she have any more energy or be any perkier?_

_And then a thought seemed to cross her mind, "Hey, you should come see us at the big game Friday."_

_I once again marveled at her perkiness. I wanted to roll my eyes. Yah right, like I was going to spend a whole Friday night watching her cheer for Max. But being the tactful person that I am, I just simply said, "I'm not such a football fan." But I really wanted to add, 'especially when it involves people going crazy over big goons like Max.' But I controlled my inner demons and resisted the urge._

_And being the energizer bunny that she had turned into, she just kept on going, "You know I wasn't either, but now I go to all the games as a girlfriend and as a cheerleader, I am totally into it."_

'_Totally into it?' I thought to myself. What Valley Girl invaded your body?_

_We were interrupted by the bell ringing and Energizer Casey went on yet again, "Ooh, yikes! I'm going to be late for practice."_

'_No!' I wanted to scream. 'I haven't talked to you in so long and now you're literally running away'. I quickly tried to think as I began walking with her. "Oh, oh, oh," I stammered, "does that mean you're not going to be coming to the thing Friday night?" Good one Covington, 'coming to the thing'. How intelligent of me._

_She looked at me like 'what in the world are you talking about'. "What thing?"_

"_The poetry thing," I said as I pointed to the bulletin board. Of course the flyer was almost buried with things concerning the football game, but it was still slightly visible._

_She actually got a sad look on her face when she saw the flyer. "That's this Friday? Oh, I loved it last year. I even did my special "Life is like a Merry-Go-Round" poem."_

_I wanted to tell her that I think she'd been going round and round on the Merry-Go-Round a bit long and that perhaps that's why her brain seemed to be affected, but once again I bit my tongue. But still, it was like standing there with some Pod-Casey. Finally I responded with, "Sorry I missed it."_

"_I'm sorry I can't come, but it's the same time as the big game. Wish us luck. Go Bulldogs!" she said as she turned to run off. And then she turned back and hollered, "Take it easy Noel," as she dashed off._

_I gave her a half salute and once again wondered what alien life form had invaded her body._

I tried not to think about Casey after that. She wasn't the Casey I had come to know and love, well, like. Every endearing quality I had come to appreciate had seemed to evaporate and been replaced with all the qualities I detest in girls. Yep, I had resigned myself to the fact that Casey wasn't for me. And then of course, she walked into my life once again.

I was sitting in the hall trying to finish up my poems when I saw Casey coming my way.

_"Hey Noel, everything all right?"_

_I was just writing something. Are you okay?" I asked. She did look a bit down and I couldn't help but hope that maybe she and Max had broken up. I mean, sure I'd feel bad for her, but it would be for the best. That guy seemed to have some kind of spell over her and it totally weirded me out. _

"_Uh, just some allergy thing," she said rather unconvincingly._

"_What are you allergic too?"_

"_I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe it's all in my head."_

'_No, the only thing that's in your head is a bunch of brainwashing from a brainless football player.' _

Okay, so I only said that in my head, but God did it make me feel good.

_Then she sat down beside me and asked, "What are you writing?"_

"_A spoken word piece for the poetry thing tonight," I said trying to get my mind off of really trying to pursue what was wrong with her. "Do you know a word that rhymes with slurp?"_

"_Burp?"_

_I had to smile at her reply. There was a little bit of the Casey I knew, "Other than burp?"_

"_Uh, okay," she said as she thought for a moment. "How about usurp?"_

_My sarcasm finally got the best of me and I had to say, "That's a fancy word for a cheerleader." I immediately felt guilty for ragging on her so I quickly looked down at the paper and tried to apply the word. "Okay thanks. Drink at the fountain, I gargle and slurp, but don't stand there all day or some kid will usurp." We both laughed at the sound of it. "It's kind of weird."_

"_Yah, but it rhymes," she said as a genuine smiled crossed her face. God, I had missed that smile._

_And then for some reason, it's like she felt the need to share, "Hey, I had a poetry column in the paper once. It was on the back page and nobody read it but…"_

_But before she could go on, Max walked up to say "hi" and Casey immediately began to sneeze. _

_Max seemed oblivious to it all as he asked, "Hey, guess who's going to be on the front page of the school paper?"_

_Casey stood up to face him and asked, "Who?"_

"_The quarterback and his girlfriend," he said with that smug look I literally hate. "So come on, let's go," he went on before adding, "and could you change into your cheerleading outfit?"_

_I could have sworn she looked slightly offended by the request and she did question him by asking, "Why?"  
_

"_That's the picture they want and you look great in that outfit. You don't mind, right?"_

"_Of course not," she managed to get out._

_Yep, she's offended, she's definitely offended. And once again the phrase 'stupid idiot' played through my mind._

_She suddenly seemed sadly resolved to the situation and a weak "Go Bulldogs," came from her lips. _

_I just sat there taking all of it in and wondering to myself, 'How much more of this crap is she going to take?'_

_I was looking down pretending to not be paying attention, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her look back at me quickly as she walked away. I then I looked up and watched her for a moment as I thought to myself, 'How could anyone that smart be so stupid?'_

And that is how we found ourselves at tonight. Now you might think that it's been a pretty good story so far and I guess it has. But just wait, it gets even better or at least I think it does.

_I was walking out of the cafeteria, the poetry reading just over, when I happened to see Casey walking up and down the hall. She was still in her cheerleading uniform but no one else was around her. I guess that everyone else had gone on to the after parties._

_I walked up to her and tried not to startle her. I could tell she was in really deep thought as she kept pacing back and forth and muttering to herself. _

_Finally I just went for it and asked quietly, "Casey?"_

_She looked surprised to see anyone else there with her. It was almost as if she was in her own little world. And evidently she was because there was absolutely no small talk, no 'Hi Noel, what are you doing here?' Instead, I was immediately hit with, "Have I turned into an airhead?"_

Okay, now I think I've mentioned to you that tact is not my middle name and I wanted to scream, 'Yes! You might as well buy a gallon of peroxide and a pound of blue eye shadow and tub of sparkly pink lip gloss because girl, you've gone to the dark side.' But I think you'll be very pleased with my response because I was very diplomatic.

"_What makes you think you've turned into an airhead?"_

"_Because, I basically gave up everything that I loved, like debating, dance, my poetry column, things that were really important to me, just to go 'rah-rah' for a bunch of football players at a game that at the end of the day doesn't matter one way or the other in the whole scheme of things."_

_Yes! My Casey is still buried somewhere deep inside all the sparkly goop! "Well, what brought on this epiphany?" I asked as calmly as I could, still trying to figure out where she was going with all this._

"_Derek actually helped me out. He asked me if I was okay and I asked him if he was asking because he had to be sensitive, see he and my step-dad George had a bet that Derek couldn't be sensitive and not say a snide remark for a week. So I asked him if he was asking because he had to be sensitive or because he really cared."_

I have to stop here for a moment. I'm not sure if you know it or not, but Casey has a slight problem with rambling and babbling. Okay, who are we kidding? If there was a twelve step program for it, she'd be a charter member. But once again, I digress.

"_Of course he said the first one. But still I unloaded on him and told him all the things that were running through me. And he said something that just kind of set everything off in me. He told me to change back. I mean Derek gave me good advice. Can you believe it?" Evidently it was a rhetorical question, because she went on without letting me answer. "So here I am, taking a break from cheerleading and I'm going to start writing poetry again."_

"_What about Max?" I asked hopefully._

"_I'm taking a break from Max too. I told him that I needed some time to think and he told me that he didn't. And if the look on his face before he walked away was any indication, it's probably pretty safe to say that it's a permanent break."_

So if you'll remember back earlier in this tale, you'll remember that I'm not much of a dancer. But had I been, I would have been dancing quite the little jig at her words.

"_I told him when he came up to me after the game that I couldn't go to the parties with him. That I was just going to go home. Get this, I told him that I thought I had lost my identity and he asked me if I'd checked my wallet."_

_Okay, I'd tried to hold it together through a lot of things, but this was impossible. Bursting out into a fit of laughter I finally verbalized the words I'd thought so many times through the last few months, "Stupid idiot!"_

_Casey looked shocked at my sudden outburst and I quickly quieted down and cleared my throat as I tried to gain my composure and apologized with a quick, "Sorry." And then something she'd said suddenly came back to me, "If you told him you were going home, what are you still doing here?"_

"_I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I've just been walking back and forth and doing a lot of thinking. Maybe I've been trying to find myself after everything that's happened."_

_I nodded my head in understanding. "Well, you missed quite the poetry reading. There were some real doozies. My slurp and usurp poem didn't even come close to being one of the craziest."_

"_Really?" she asked with a smile. "You know we work pretty well together. How would you like to help me write a poem?"_

_This got my curiosity up and I had to ask, "Why do you need to write a poem?"_

"_Well, George is scared that he's going to lose the bet with Derek and he told me if I could get Derek to lose his sensitive side, he'd give me a cut of the money. How about you help me write a poem that'll leave him with no choice but to lose the bet?"_

Casey was asking for my help, my help! But I'd had my hopes dashed one to many times by one of her little episodes so I turned her down flat.

Alright, earth to people! Surely you didn't just fall for that? Were you born yesterday? Of course I offered to help her. But being the strong, confident guy I am, I only agreed on one condition.

"_I'd love to help you write a poem to one-up Derek, especially after he one-upped us in the play. But I'll only do it on one condition. You let me take you to Smelly Nelly's for a burger and we write it there."_

She totally agreed and it turned out hilarious. We named it "The Meaning of Life" and it had all this garbage about stars, and babies crying and puppy dog eyes. She even woofs in the thing! I'm telling you, it's freaking hilarious and if it doesn't get him to crack, I don't know what will.

But anyway, I'm getting off subject again aren't I? So in the beginning of this long, drawn out tale I told you that where I am at the present time is not such a bad place to be. And I'm sure you're all dying to find out where I am, right?

Well, at the moment I happen to be sitting outside Casey McDonald's house in my Vette. And on a side note I have to tell you that the Vette impressed her a great deal. But anyway, like I said, at the moment I'm sitting outside Casey's house watching her walk in the front door. And my hand happens to be on my cheek touching the exact place that Casey's lips were on just a moment ago.

Seems she loves my sensitive side and how I really came through for her tonight and cheered her up.

Now, I'm not stupid enough to think that a relationship is going to happen any time soon. I know girls go through that whole 'sitting in the dark, listening to sad music while you eat a gallon of ice cream' phase after a break up.

But I've planted the seed my friends. So now, I'll just sit back and wait, I'll bide my time. Heck, I've waited this long, what's a little while longer?

But as I said in the beginning, where I'm at today is not a bad place to be.

* * *

**So this was my prompt: Anything that sheds light on Noel. Poor boy gets no love. Free reign on this. I just want to kinda read something that's Noelcentric.**

**I'm still not sure this it's exactly what you wanted, but I did give him a background and some insight into his thoughts on things. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Everyone else, what did you think? I've got a real soft spot for Noel and besides Sam and of course Dasey, he's probably my favorite character, so I was excited to see this prompt. It wasn't the prompt most people would have thought I would be drawn to, and maybe that's what interested me the most. I've never written anything that doesn't end up Dasey and I've never written anything in first person. **

**But still, this was a lot of fun to do and I appreciate juliasfish for giving me a prompt that expanded my writing a bit. Now it's back to my epic saga of "Moments in our Lives". So much story left to tell my friends, so much story left to tell!**

**Please review and give me your honest opinion. I don't mind constructive criticism and as I said, this was a whole new ballgame for me. What did you think?**


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